#psychics

WEDNESDAY ADDAMS x ENID SINCLAIR x VAMPIRE! READER

A/N: Just finished the rest of season two! Very pleased! Regardless, please enjoy this short story!

+ I apologize if anything seems ooc ^^'

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Like the Lupin, Vampires are intrinsically bound to the moon. Their forms will change and their instincts will run wild…Unless they are among the rank of the Vampire Lords.

A Vampire Lord is a cut above the rest, a creature of unpredictable power and raw instinct. You know this…And so you were destined to be alone…Except when it comes to the werewolf you know as Enid Sinclair you are more than happy to change into your more monstrous form…

Such are the cards you were dealt.

Sightings – S2E16 – “Ouija” – February 12th, 1993

“What do you think? Is the ouija board a harmless toy, or a pipeline to untapped psychic power? It’s marketed as a game and its manufacturer claims no connection with the paranormal. But others believe that ouija boards have been known to make startling predictions. There are even some people who claim the ouija board has changed their lives forever…”

We start out in Satanic Panic territory, with an anonymous "ouija board victim" telling us about a ghost assaulting her after using it.

“The ouija board is not a toy and it’s not a game and I’d like very much to see it taken out of toy stores.”

Anna Foster says it's a "dimensional doorway" and using a ouija board opens you up to being a "receiver station" for spirits - good or ill. Remember her, by the way.

A psychiatrist arrives to tell us about the ideomotor effect, without using the term itself, describing subconscious musculature movements...

Peter Moscow, who we last saw in season one, is dubious, saying many cases of the ouija board are just subconscious movement.

Psychic Shawn Randall, surprisingly, agrees, saying you see what you want to see - if you want to see something upsetting, predictions of doomsday, that's what you'll get from your own subconscious.

Then we take a turn.

On July 9th, 1990, six army intelligence officers deserted their post in Augsburg, Germany. The incident made global news, with the fugitives being treated as potential terrorists, potential Soviet defectors, or potentially abducted by the Soviet Union. These weren't grunts - these were intelligence officers, including a NCO. Five days later, they resurfaced in Florida, in the UFO hotspot of Gulf Breeze, where they were dubbed the Gulf Breeze Six.

They then revealed their reason for going AWOL:

To assassinate the Antichrist.

Psychosis, spiritual belief, and psychic experience can sometimes look similar from the outside, but they are not the same thing.

If you’re a sensitive, intuitive, spiritual person, or you’ve lived through trauma, you might ask,

“Am I really sensing something? Or is this just in my head?”

That question can be scary. Especially when people around you don’t understand your experiences, or when you’ve been dismissed as too emotional, crazy, or delusional. It can be depressing and disheartening to see people on social media describing their spiritual psychosis when it seems so similar to your own beliefs.

So let’s break this down clearly.

What’s a spiritual or psychic experience… and what’s a sign of psychosis?

Spiritual psychosis is when the brain uses spiritual ideas or symbols to make sense of fear, trauma, or sensory overload, but without grounding, self reflection, or flexibility.

Here’s how to recognize it:

-You can’t step back from the belief without panic or spiraling. You might even say, “This is definitely true and I don’t care what anyone says.” When it’s questioned, you believe people who want to hurt you are gaslighting you about your beliefs because they’re actually bad entities etc. For instance, this post may make you very uncomfortable or angry.

-The belief can feel urgent, heavy, and terrifying, like something bad will happen if you don’t act now. Even when you act, the feeling is very temporary.

-You feel isolated by it, no one else “gets it,” and anyone who disagrees feels like a threat.

-There’s no metaphor. everything is interpreted as literal truth. (The owl outside isn’t a sign. It’s a spy.”)

-a lot of the time there’s paranoia or grandiosity, either “everyone is watching me” or “I’ve been chosen and nobody knows/is pretending to not know.”

-You stop functioning: can’t sleep, eat, maintain hygiene, work, or care for yourself.

-You start feeling like your thoughts aren’t your own, or the universe is controlling your actions, sometimes by sending you messages constantly to change your behavior.

-You may hear voices, see things, or feel things that are completely detached from the environment or internal symbolism.

A lot of the time, this feels stressful, threatening, or confusing. Unlike intuitive or psychic messages, clairaudience or sight, which are subtle, symbolic, and integrated and can be controlled, especially with practice, hallucinations in psychosis feel intrusive and out of your control. They feel intense and will never go away, even when you spiritually cleanse. They may for periods of time when you’re out of psychosis, but it comes back in the same uncontrollable way.

Example:

“The number 666 keeps showing up. If I don’t obey what it means right now, something terrible will happen, and the people around me might be hurt”

Now compare that to:

What is a Grounded Spiritual or Psychic Experience?

Spiritual or intuitive experiences can be intense, beautiful, emotional, or even mysterious, but they don’t override your logic, your consent, or your daily life.

Here’s what it looks like:

-You can hold the belief lightly: “This feels true to me, but there is room for error. I could be wrong.”

-It makes you feel comforted, expanded, or empowered, not trapped or terrified, not unreasonably grandiose

-You can still eat, sleep, maintain relationships, care for yourself, and do daily tasks.

-you feel empowered without believing you’re the only one who is special

-You have room for metaphor/questioning/curiosity: “Maybe the dream was symbolic or an astral experience” or “The number 444 feels like a sign to me.”

-You feel connected to something bigger but you don’t lose yourself in it. You don’t lose friends, jobs, money, and yourself over it.

-You don’t need others to believe you or follow your path. You could be frustrated by it, but it doesn’t feel like a threat/they don’t feel like a threat.

-You can reflect, journal, and explore the belief without falling apart emotionally or getting so overwhelmed nothing makes sense anymore.

-If someone disagrees, it doesn’t feel like your reality is collapsing and that they’re trying to brainwash you/are evil spirits trying to take you away from your beliefs.

-Your visions/cards/powers aren’t controllable and never go away

Still Unsure? Ask Yourself:

-Can I let go of this thought, even for a second, without feeling like I’m going to die or disappear? Or without feeling like a bad spirit has finally gotten to me to overshadow my powers and make me weak? (And you don’t question the thought)

-Do I still feel like me, even when I’m having these experiences?

-Do I have control over my actions, or do I feel like something else is taking over via tech/food/demons acting as people/demons never going away despite spiritual action?

-Am I taking care of my body and relationships, or neglecting everything for this belief? Did it turn my life upside down in a destructive way?

-Is the belief symbolic and curious, or is it always literal and life or death?

-do i feel unusually happy, powerful beyond reason (i.e I am Jesus), you can’t sleep, you lose or gain a lot of weight, and people say your speech/thoughts aren’t very clear? Or that you’re acting a lot different in a concerning way?

-You believe everyone else isn’t real and it’s just you

-Obsessive thoughts, bad memory during/after spiritual experiences, lack of insight, and conflicting beliefs later seen as spiritual attacks that could have been something else?

If you feel overwhelmed or attacked just by asking these… that could be a sign your system is in distress. It isn’t just OCD or anxiety- it rules your life. That doesn’t mean you’re crazy or that this isn’t fixable. It means you may need grounding, support, and someone trauma informed to help you. If you get support, you can go back to experiencing grounded spiritual events without the delusions or hallucinations that might be there. It would be more clear and more effective, more powerful and empowering to others to learn about your experiences.

What Happens in the Brain During Psychosis?

Psychosis is a neurobiological state. It isn’t something unfixable and it doesn’t mean it will never go away. There are always ups and downs with anybody and anything, but It doesn’t mean spirituality will trigger it again, it doesn’t make you a bad person, and it doesn’t make you less valid as a practitioner. You just may need a little TLC to get back to the reality of your spirituality, and that’s okay. There’s no shame in that.

(You don’t need every sign to be in psychosis, you can have a few extreme signs but if it’s tied to anxiety it’s most likely just that)

-The Default Mode Network (which helps you stay centered and aware of yourself) becomes unstable. That can lead to identity confusion (not related to dissociation), racing thoughts, and feeling like you’re not real. (Again not related to dissociation or regular anxiety, it’s more of being convinced you’re not real or others aren’t real)

-The Salience Network (which tells your brain what’s important) goes haywire, making you think neutral things are signs, threats, or codes.

-Dopamine spikes, making your brain over assign meaning to everything. It can cause hallucinations and delusions.

-Your prefrontal cortex (rational thinking, planning, perspective) goes offline. It’s your way or the highway, you’re right, no one else is right. (Example) You ARE the second coming, and this post is targeting you.

-You lose insight. you stop being able to tell what’s real, or that something’s off.

This isn’t your fault. It’s a state your brain enters when it’s overwhelmed, sleep deprived, overstimulated, or triggered by trauma or stress. It can also be genetic, chemical, or drug induced.

What About Paganism, Witchcraft, or Psychic Gifts?

People who practice magic, divination, or energy work often:

-Sense energy in spaces or people

-Get prophetic dreams or visions

-Feel “downloads” of insight or messages

-Notice patterns or signs others miss

-Hear internal guidance or feel watched/protected by deities or ancestors

This is not psychosis. This is belief and sensitivity.

It becomes unhealthy only when you lose insight, shut down your life, or can’t tolerate anyone questioning your experiences. If you can stay grounded, reflective, and functional, even if you believe in spirits, signs, or spells, you’re not mentally ill. You’re spiritually gifted, intuitive, or simply open.

And what about feeling cursed or attacked? Does it mean I am psychotic?

You might really be picking up on projected malice, jealousy, or spiritual boundary violations. In spiritual traditions, hexes and bad energy aren’t always spells- they can be envy, trauma cords, or energetic residue. Such as the evil eye being cast on you.

A grounded response:

You may feel shaken or scared, but you’re generally calm, focused, and take cleansing action—salt, smoke, boundaries, protection work.

You don’t spiral. You don’t obsess. You move on.

An ungrounded or delusional response:

-You become obsessive, terrified, or isolated.

-You repeat rituals compulsively, distrust everyone, or feel doomed.

-You lose sleep, stop eating, and disconnect from reality.

If the belief creates constant suffering and dysfunction. it’s not the spirit world punishing you. It might be your nervous system trying to cope with something else.

If You’re Wondering: “Is This Me?”

Here’s the truth:

People who are in active psychosis don’t usually ask if they’re in psychosis. The very fact that you’re questioning, comparing, and trying to discern… that means you have insight. You chose to read this post.

You’re not crazy. You’re sensitive. You might be gifted. And if you’re overwhelmed, you deserve support that honors both your spirituality AND your sanity.

⸻

Sources:

• Carhart-Harris & Friston (2010–2019), “The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy”

• Kapur (2003), “Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience,” American Journal of Psychiatry

• Newberg & d’Aquili (2001), Why God Won’t Go Away

• Garety et al. (2001), “A cognitive model of the positive symptoms of psychosis,” Psychological Medicine

• DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association (2013)

• Grof & Grof (1989), Spiritual Emergency

• Lukoff, Lu, & Turner (1998), “From spiritual emergency to spiritual problem,” Journal of Humanistic Psychology

This is my first post in a long time 🌼 I worked hard on it, and I hope it was comprehensible. I’d love it if you could share your thoughts or want to know more/want me to clarify something. I am not 100% used to making big comprehensive posts like this, especially with my chronic illnesses/flair ups.

Feel free to tip me or to send me a blessing, but a like and maybe a reblog is the best gift of all. It motivates me to post more content like this :)

"I wish our world was like a fantasy movie"

"I wish our world was more dystopian"

"I wish we had fantasy creatures and we looked cooler"

We have sharks with spots and stripes. We have snow bears and forest bears. We have foxes. We have sea horses. Our leaves change colours depending on the seasons. Our veins appear blue and some of us have white eyelashes. We have chubby bodies and skinny bodies. We have governments to overthrow. We have serial killers and cults. We live on a giant ball floating in space. We have over 10,000 different species of birds. We have ants that can lift 50 times its body weight. We fly around the world in big metal flying machines. We have snow and lightning. We have cruel people in charge who treat society like puppets. We have sex for fun. We have animals with horns. We have religions and temples and churches. We have fireflies. We have bioluminescence that makes ocean water shine blue. We have black cats with yellow eyes. We have psychics. We have science. We have glowing mushrooms. We have stories about dragons and fairies and mermaids. We have teachers. We have clouds and wind that turn into a tornado. We have machines on different planets. Our skin prunes up when we're under water so that we have better grip. Our skin gets goosebumps when we feel like something is wrong. Everyone has their own special fingerprint. We have different coloured eyes and skin. We braid hair. There are homes made out of ice. We brand our bodies to make ourselves look cooler. We have witches. We have castles and kings and queens. We have owls that twist their head 270 degrees. A few times a year, our sun and moon meet. Our moon affects our ocean current. We have giant squids and patterned seashells. Our palms look like leaf patterns. When we like someone, we press our lips to theirs, just to feel closer. Our wind whistles. We cook food over bright orange dancing flames. We have the aurora borealis. We have assassins.

THEME: Psionics and/or Polycules.

Hello there! I've got a quick rundown of the top games that came to mind when thinking of both of these things. Psionics seem to collide with cyberpunk a lot, so I hope you're ready for a bunch of cyberpunk recommendations!

the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend, by stargazersasha.

THE GIRLFRIEND OF MY GIRLFRIEND IS MY FRIEND is a simple, heartfelt roleplaying game for 2 to 6-ish players (and no GM), created by stargazersasha for the MS Paint Jam. it's a game about art, magic, and identity; it's about being trans and growing through young adulthood together.

Buckle up for a wonderful example of how you really can make a ttrpg with little to no software. Made entirely in MS Paint, the girlfriend of my girlfriend comes from a designer who has inspired many others - one might even call stargazersasha the Chappell Roan of ttrpgs. You don't all have to be in a polycule but at least one of the characters is in one, and I don't see much stopping all of your characters dating if you want

the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend is a great option for players who want to explore a story of slow changes in relationships, as characters learn about who they are and who they want to be. I think if would also be a great game for folks who want to navigate stories about everyday, relatable struggles - these games may seem cozy and simple at first glance, but when so much of a setting feels close to everyday life, I think it can also hit a deep emotional place.

Bell Bottoms and Brainwaves, by Mekkakat.

The year is 1962.

The United States military has been conducting secret experiments on “willing” subjects in a program called PSY-CLOPS (Psychic Covert Learning Operatives). The program has successfully created a 6th sense in a REDACTED number of subjects. This 6th sense can manifest within a subject in several ways, but all of these abilities are simply referred to as ‘powers’. The project has been funded for the past REDACTED years, but in last month, there was a problem. The Pentagon wants answers. REDACTED subjects have managed to escape. You are one of those subjects.

The game takes place in the ‘normal’ world of ‘62. Big cars, color TV, drive-ins, malted milk shakes, and beehive hairdos. You and your fellow escapees need to blend into society and avoid the feds, police and sending society into a panic. Your other senses are more sensitive from unlocking a 6th sense—you’re more irritable, and when your senses are overloaded, your powers can become erratic.

You start with nothing except a shaved head, white top, white bottoms and white slip-on shoes. You’ve been barely getting by since you’ve escaped. Thank goodness you have powers. You need to stick together with your fellow escapees if you have any.

Bell Bottoms and Brainwaves is a one-page game that packs a lot of horror underneath its psychedelic aesthetic. You're all escaped experiments in the 60's, trying to find a safe place, while trying to manage their psychic powers. Being on the run is stressful, which is not great, because stress triggers freakouts. Freakouts are rolled randomly, and can trigger some pretty grotesque effects, like turning animals inside out, uncontrollable screaming, or lighting your hands on fire. If you want unreliable, unexpected side-effects and you're not too squeamish, you might want to check out Bell Bottoms and Brainwaves.

Headspace, by Green Hat Designs.

Corporations control everything, and it’s your fault.

You want to stop them; you’re not alone, but you need an edge. The edge is Headspace technology: your brain networked to the brains of the others in your cell, sharing your skills and hyper-competency… but that also includes your pain and trauma.

Headspace is a game about corporate espionage and dealing with shared emotional trauma in a dystopian, cyberpunk world. Alone, you don’t stand a chance. Together, you can overcome your demons.

Headspace is inspired by the Netflix tv show Sense8, which I feel is maybe the closest piece of media to provide you with both psychic-style powers and polycule relationship dynamics. Headspace heightens this by making your setting a cyberpunk dystopia. You're a group of criminals with technological implants that allow you to share skills and thoughts with each-other, including members of your crew who recently passed away. You'll have to wrestle with each-other, and your grief, while also going on jobs against the very people responsible for your loved one's death.

The polyamory is optional with this one, but I can see some juicy opportunities for a game where you're aware of your crew's thoughts at all times.

Syndrome, by Ill Advised Gaming.

"They talked empathy and walked apathy."

Syndrome is a cyberpunk setting with strong elements of body horror in the vein of Scanners or Akira. High tech, low lifes dealing with illness in a society that fears them. Powerful and vulnerable in equal measure with only their fellow Nockers for support.

Syndrome takes place in a setting where psychic powers are real and medicalized, providing everyday folks with interesting powers that simultaneous make them impossible to be surveilled. This is, of course, a great advantage in a system built on surveillance, but it also puts a target on your backs. Syndrome uses the Caltrop Core system with bits of Powered by the Apocalypse to focus on the disabled experience while simultaneously empowering your characters. If you want all the gritty goodness of a cyberpunk world, I definitely recommend Syndrome.

Psychopunk, by Gormengeist.

PSYCHOPUNK is a TTRPG about being poor, being psychic, and murdering law enforcement. In order to play, you need a deck of cards, a d12, paper and pencils, and a can-do attitude. It's best with one game master [A.K.A the Scripter], and 2 to 5 players.

In 1999, a corporation won the presidency. It’s called corporate personhood. Look it up in your almanac. Anyways, things went downhill from there as the line between corporation and state was scrubbed clean off.

The year is 2022. Being poor is punishable by death- or perhaps worse- Time Prison. CRT monitors are all we fuckin’ got. Synthesizers are still half the size of cars. You’ve got a patch cable in your spinal cord. Life is bad.

You are poor. But you’re also psychic, which very few lowly peasants such as yourself are. This means that where most people in your situation are rat meat, you are (probably) alive. For now.

If you want to keep it that way, you’ll need to evade the law, keep up on your Double Dollars ($$), and scuz some fucking corpos before they scuz you.

I don't know much about Psychopunk, but the creator, Gormengeist, has made some really visually resonant and thematically interesting games that deal a lot with magic, otherness, and marginalization. This game feels like it resonates with a lot of these touchstones, placing your characters as disadvantaged and powerful. I'd say this game is much more focused on cool psychic powers and high-action sequences, and much less focused on the relational aspects of your crew.

Lesbians Built This Farm, by che.

LESBIANS BUILT THIS FARM is a gmless table top role-playing game about queer joy and resistance for 2-4 players, written by che for the TRANS JOY JAM.

this is a game about the places we build and the things we need to build them. it uses a simple two-part system which ties a joyful "no dice no masters"-style home life to the grueling game of odds and effort that is ""being queer in the work place.""

This is a game that focuses on building community, especially when it is hard. It's another game where polyamory isn't necessary, but feels exceptionally at home within the confines of the rules. It feels very closely tied to the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend, but it's distinct in that your character pieces are combined from two different places: a playbook and a day job. The playbook tells us something about your relationships, personality, and interests. The day job tells us what you do to keep the farm alive. When you go to work, you draw cards to represent how much work is on your plate for your specific shift. You build up stress and try to avoid getting strikes: too many strikes, and you're fired. Getting fired is a completely demoralizing event; it's a hint towards how the system is designed to punish those who try to build something outside of it. I think it's also a great argument for having a connected web of people to rely on.

You Might Also Like…

Gay Crime: Sapphics Against Capital, by Evey Lockhart.

I also talked about a bunch of these games in my Psychic Vigilantes Recommendation post.

Your own original ideas you started from scratch. Sometimes we need more than just believing in ourselves. We need to appreciate too sometimes of how much we actually achieved.

Even if in the five years you see your progress in just one area and it only progressed level one still babe it's perfect. Not everyone is granted everything on silver spoon you didn't you did all that yourself. Learning unlearning and still going.

If you were your own child what would you do? How would you feel for this progress? Not that good? You know it should have been more cause you can do it? Don't beat yourself over it. Look at the other areas that you progressed. Your energy and mind were not focused on just one area of betterment it was for your whole.

Look at yourself and around other and not just this one specific area of your life which you think you didn't progress even when you had the resources and everything. You are not lazy, universe don't hate you, and you are not going backwards.

You are just progressing even if you can't see but every area of your life in the areas which you can't even see. So be gentle with yourself and take a moment to be proud of how much you actually grow up.

If you do drawing of some sort I feel your art is very fun not just healing it is fun you know like colour yellow. Different cool and sunshine? I see one secret admirer of your art. And I don't think or see this person will ever like come out or talk I feel very introverted energy but yes. Your art is something good. Even if it feels almost absurd. Your art is fun and childlike not just to you but to those you admire your art. Though again do it for yourself and not for the likes and fame.

I love your energy and I feel a lot of progress slow but yours authentic. I see you glowing from within the areas of your life on spiritual and on material level too which though you cant see progressed. God bless you, keep growing, keep going. And be proud of yourself. You are not stuck just doing the work on every level.